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Toledo Bend Retains Top Spot On Bassmaster’s 100 Best Bass Lakes List

Bassmaster Magazine has released the 2016 rankings for the 100 Best Bass Lakes in America, and Toldeo Bend Reservoir has been named the No. 1 fishery in the country for the second year in a row.

Photo illustration by Laurie Tisdale/Bassmaster

Press Release distributed by Bassmaster

Toledo Bend Retains Top Spot On Bassmaster’s 100 Best Bass Lakes List

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — For the first time since the creation of Bassmaster’s 100 Best Bass Lakes rankings, a fishery has reclaimed the No.1 spot in the nation. Toledo Bend Reservoir, which straddles the Texas and Louisiana border, keeps the crown and is the only lake to earn the title more than once.

“More than three months of research went into this year’s rankings,” explained Bassmaster Magazine editor James Hall, who noted that the initial pool of top fisheries was developed with input from B.A.S.S. Nation members across the country, state fisheries biologists, the 3,500-member B.A.S.S. Council and some of the 650,000 Facebook fans of B.A.S.S.

“Then, we scoured the Internet for current catch-rate data, using the results of more than two dozen tournament organizations and several state ‘lunker’ programs to narrow the field to 100. It’s a brutal process, but the results give bass anglers the ultimate bucket list of lakes for 2016,” Hall said.

There is one big difference in the rankings this year. The Top 10 lakes in the nation are ranked regardless of location, but instead of ranking the remaining lakes through 100, as has been done in the past, Bassmaster divided the nation into four regions: Northeast, Southeast, Central and Western. Now, readers will see the Top 25 lakes closest to them. This also created four No. 1 regional fisheries.

In the Southeast division, Santee Cooper lakes earned the top spot (it’s also ranked No. 2 in the nation). Clear Lake took the No. 1 spot in the Western division (No. 3 nationally), while the New York portion of Lake Erie was named No. 1 in the Northeast (No. 4 in the nation). Of course, Toledo Bend was the Central division’s No.1 fishery.

“Our panel of judges who finalized the rankings were absolutely blown away by the production of Toledo Bend the past 12 months,” Hall noted. “The lake has yielded 139 certified bass over 10 pounds with a 14.15-pounder topping the list. Plus, a 38-pound limit and countless limits in the 30-pound range have been weighed in during tournaments over the past year.”

The 185,000-acre impoundment was the site of the A.R.E. Truck Caps Bassmaster Elite at Toledo Bend in May, which Kevin VanDam won with almost 100 pounds, even though the anglers were fishing in tough conditions after regional flooding had occurred.

A couple of other highlights from the rankings include Texas’ Falcon Lake climbing back into the nation’s Top 10 with a No. 9 ranking. This lake was ranked No.1 in 2012 and then very nearly fell off the list when drought plagued the region. Plus, a couple of new lakes have cracked the rankings, including Mississippi’s Okatibbee Lake, Arizona’s Saguaro Lake and Florida’s Lake Rousseau.

Texas earned bragging rights for the state with the most ranked lakes, boasting eight fisheries on the list. Florida and California tied for the second most with seven ranked lakes, while New York and Michigan each have six lakes in the Top 100.

Bassmaster’s 100 Best Bass Lakes will be published in an eight-page section of the July/August issue of Bassmaster Magazine. The complete rankings will also be featured on Bassmaster.com.

About B.A.S.S.B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2), social media programs and events. For more than 45 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series, B.A.S.S. Nation, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Costa Bassmaster High School Series, Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro.